Coronavirus in Powys round-up – Tuesday, February 16

Public Health Wales (PHW) statistics show that another person has died due to Covid-19, taking the number of people who have died in Powys to 57. The number of deaths also rose to 17 in Powys in the week up to February 5, its highest weekly number since the first wave of the pandemic.

The number of deaths is significantly higher according to more reliable Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures. ONS stats reveal Powys deaths stand at 201, which has not changed in a few days.

Deaths of Powys residents are typically skewed because many of the county’s patients deemed acute are transferred to hospitals in England. ONS figures are therefore usually considered a stronger indicator of the overall impact of the virus, and which are based on all deaths where Covid-19 is mentioned on the death certificate.

The latest PHW statistics show that the total number of cases in the county since the pandemic began now stand at 3,771.

Despite the success of the vaccine roll-out across the county, Powys residents are being warned that Covid-19 remains a constant threat.

The warning comes from the county council and health board after the county passed the total of more than 200 Covid related deaths during the pandemic, with 20 deaths being registered in the week up to February 6 – the second highest weekly total during the outbreak.

Powys County Council leader Rosemarie Harris said “The tragic milestone is a reminder that this dreadful virus is still a danger to everyone, and we must maintain our vigilance and follow national restrictions.

“We must not forget that every case is a tragedy for a Powys household and must do all that we can to stop the spread to this terrible virus.”

The director of public health in Powys, meanwhile, has insisted that residents respect Covid guidelines following a rise in the number of positive cases.

Stuart Bourne said it was vital that Powys residents continued to respect Covid guidelines.

“The recent rise in the rate of cases is partly due to outbreaks of Covid-19 in specific settings across the county,” he said. “Workplaces provide an opportunity for infection to spread, especially in settings where people work closely, where there is a high throughput of staff and where the environment may allow the virus to persist.”

This has occurred at a time when cases have been falling elsewhere in Wales, ranking Powys as the third highest rate of positive cases of Covid-19 in Wales, and the highest percentage of tests returning a positive result.

Powys stats:

Confirmed cases – 3,771

New cases in February 16 data – 10

Rate of new cases per 100,000 in week to February 11 – 117

Powys position among Welsh local authorities for rate of new cases – Joint 12th out of 22

Newly-confirmed cases day-by-day:

Tuesday, February 16 – 10

Monday, February 15 – 24

Sunday, February 14 – 14

Saturday, February 13 – 12

Friday, February 12 – 41

Thursday, February 11 – 37

Wednesday, February 10 – 8

Tuesday, February 9 – 21

The national picture:

The number of deaths involving Covid-19 in the pandemic has now passed the 7,000 mark in Wales – with eight new deaths announced on Tuesday.

But the number of weekly deaths has fallen for a third successive week, according to latest figures from the ONS.

There were 314 deaths involving Covid-19 in the week ending February 5, accounting for 34.8 per cent of all deaths that week, compared with 37.1 per cent the week before.

Latest overall deaths where Covid is mentioned on the death certificate is up to 7,005 up to February 5 data. This is nearly a fifth of all deaths over the period.

The most deaths were again in north Wales with 73 deaths in the Betsi Cadwaladr health board area.

Fifty of these were in hospitals and 20 in care homes. Of these, 45 were in Wrexham and Flintshire, which have been the hotspots for Covid cases in Wales in recent weeks.

There were also 65 deaths in the Cardiff and Vale area. The number of deaths also rose to 17 in Powys, its highest weekly number since the first wave of the pandemic.

There were three new deaths in Cwm Taf Morgannwg, which has the highest number of deaths in Wales at 1,446. There were two reported in both Aneurin Bevan and Betsi Cadwaladr, and one in Powys.

There have also been a further 275 cases reported, with Wales' overall case rate falling to 88 for every 100,000 people.

The total number of people in Wales who have had their first dose of a Covid vaccine is 795,927. Second Covid jab doses have been given to 7,251 people.

Public Health Wales' statement:

Dr Giri Shankhar, incident director for the coronavirus outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “You can now not travel directly to Wales if you’ve visited or passed through a country where travel to the UK is banned in the last 10 days.

“These banned countries are often called ‘RED list’ (countries where new variant Covid strains have been found). You will only be able to enter Wales from RED list countries via a designated port of entry and isolate for 10 days in a nearby managed quarantine hotel. There are no designated ports of entry in Wales.

“For more information on current guidance go to: https://gov.wales/coronavirus-travel.

“Although the data currently shows that on an all-Wales level the numbers of cases are reducing and that the incidence is now below 95 cases per 100,000 population, the rates in some areas – particularly in North Wales – are still at nearly double that, and there have been small increases in others.

“It is encouraging to see that the numbers of people being treated for coronavirus in our hospitals is reducing, but there are still a large number of people who are extremely ill, which means that the pressure on services is still very high.”